When Cabinet Refacing Beats Replacing Your Kitchen Cabinets

Refacing makes sense when your cabinet boxes are solid plywood or sound particleboard, the layout already works for how you cook, and you mainly dislike how the doors look. Replacing is the better call when the boxes are water damaged or sagging, you want to move the sink, range or an island, or you need different cabinet sizes. Refinishing (painting or restaining what you have) sits below both on cost, and only works if the doors themselves are in good shape.

The rest of this guide walks through how to tell which camp your kitchen is in.

What each option includes

The three words get used loosely, so it helps to pin them down before comparing quotes.

• Refinishing keeps every part you have. The doors, drawer fronts and face frames are cleaned, degreased, sanded or deglossed, primed and painted or restained. Hinges and pulls are often swapped at the same time.
• Refacing keeps the cabinet boxes and replaces what you see. New doors and drawer fronts go on, the exposed box sides and face frames get a matching veneer or laminate, and new hinges, pulls and often soft-close drawer slides are installed.
• Replacing removes the cabinets entirely. New boxes are set, levelled and fixed to the wall, then doors, hardware, fillers, crown and toe kicks are installed. In most kitchens the countertop comes off and gets replaced too, because it rarely survives removal intact.

Start with the boxes, not the doors

Every refacing decision depends on what is behind the doors. Empty the sink base and one wall cabinet and look closely.

Signs the boxes can be kept:

• Shelves sit flat and the cabinet floor does not flex when you press on it.
• The face frames are tight to the boxes with no gaps at the joints.
• The sink base floor is dry and firm, without swelling or a soft spot near the drain.
• Doors close square, or would with new hinges.

Signs refacing would be money spent on a weak base:

• Particleboard that has swollen or crumbled at the edges, usually under the sink or beside the dishwasher.
• Wall cabinets pulling away from the wall or held up with extra screws someone added later.
• Mould or a lingering musty smell inside the cabinets.
• Frameless boxes with blown-out hinge holes on many doors.

A small damaged section does not rule refacing out. A sink base can often be rebuilt or replaced on its own and then refaced with the rest. Widespread swelling is a different story.

Layout decides more than budget

If your kitchen is cramped, has a corner nobody can reach, or puts the fridge door into a walkway, refacing will give you a nicer version of the same frustration. Refacing cannot add an island, widen a pantry, move the sink to a window, or turn a 30-inch base into drawers sized for pots.

Ask yourself what bothers you most when you cook. If the answer is the finish, the colour or the hardware, refacing or refinishing is worth pricing. If the answer is storage, workflow or space, put your money toward new cabinets and a reworked plan, and treat the look as a bonus.

How the costs compare

Prices vary a lot by region, kitchen size and material, so the ranges below are typical figures for a mid-size kitchen of roughly 20 to 30 linear feet of cabinets, labelled as estimates and not a quote.

Factors that push a kitchen to the top of its range:

• Door material and style. Solid wood and painted shaker doors cost more than thermofoil or laminate slab doors.
• Number of doors and drawers. Refacing is priced per piece far more than per foot, so a kitchen with many small doors costs more than one with long drawer banks.
• Hardware upgrades. Soft-close hinges, full-extension slides and pull-out organisers add up quickly.
• Countertop work. Replacing cabinets almost always means a new top, which can add several thousand dollars on its own. Refacing usually leaves the existing counter in place.
• Trim and finishing details. Crown moulding, light rails, end panels and fillers add labour on both refacing and replacement jobs.

The gap between refacing and replacing narrows once you count the countertop, the backsplash that often comes off with it, and the plumbing reconnection. That is why it pays to get both priced on the same visit.

Living in the house during the work

Refacing is one of the least disruptive kitchen projects. The counters stay, the sink and appliances keep working, and the crew works on one run of cabinets at a time. Most households cook normally on most days.

Replacement means the kitchen is out of service. The sink gets disconnected, the countertop is templated after the new boxes are set, and fabrication of stone tops usually takes one to two weeks after templating. Plan for a temporary setup with a microwave, a kettle and a laundry sink for two to four weeks.

Refinishing falls between the two. The kitchen stays usable, but doors are often off for several days while they are sprayed, and paint needs time to cure before heavy use.

Where refacing goes wrong

A few problems show up again and again on refaced kitchens:

• Veneer over damaged frames. New veneer telegraphs every dent and gap beneath it. Frames need filling and sanding first.
• Mismatched new and old parts. If one cabinet is replaced and the rest refaced, the new box must take the same veneer and door style, or the difference shows.
• Ignoring the interiors. Fresh doors over dated, chipped shelves can feel like half a job. Ask for a price on interior shelf replacement or liners.
• Keeping old drawer boxes. Worn drawer boxes on new fronts still stick. Replacing them with new boxes on full-extension slides is often worth it.

Frequently asked questions

Is refacing cheaper than buying new cabinets?

In most kitchens, yes, especially once you count the countertop and plumbing work that replacement brings with it. Refacing typically runs about 40 to 60 percent of the cost of new semi-custom cabinets for the same kitchen. The savings shrink if many boxes need repair first or you choose premium solid wood doors.

Can you reface particleboard cabinets?

You can, as long as the particleboard is dry, flat and holds screws. Particleboard that has swollen from leaks cannot be refaced reliably, because veneer and hinges will not stay put. A common approach is to replace the damaged sink base and reface the rest.

How long does cabinet refacing take?

The work in your home usually takes three to five days for an average kitchen. Before that, the new doors and drawer fronts are measured and made, which can take two to six weeks depending on the supplier and the style. You keep using your kitchen during most of the process.

Is painting kitchen cabinets better than refacing them?

Paint works when the doors are solid wood or MDF, the style still suits you, and you only want a new colour. Refacing is the better choice when you want a different door style, such as replacing raised panels with flat shaker doors, or when the existing doors are thermofoil that is peeling. Painted thermofoil does not hold up well.

Get both options priced

The fastest way to settle the question is to have someone look at the boxes, measure the kitchen and price refacing and replacement side by side. Tell us about your kitchen on our quote request form, and a remodeling specialist who works in your area will put the scope and price in writing. You can also see the areas we cover, such as Toronto, Montréal and Calgary, on our locations page.